PARAMUS, N.J. — Brian Rolston went on the shelf for the New Jersey Devils today, meaning the Devils can dress more than 15 guys for Friday’s game with the Avalanche. Now they’ve got around $5 million of theoretical cap room, because of long-term injured reserve relief (high-paid Bryce Salvador is still out for Jersey, too).

If it all sounds a little too convenient, these long-term injuries to highly paid guys for a team with severe cap problems, you’re not the only one who thinks it. But in Rolston’s case, he reportedly really is having surgery for a sports hernia.

The cap relief also makes it more unlikely a trade between the Avs and Devils will happen right now. It might still, but for now the Devils don’t have to move someone — and the Avs, with the lowest payroll in the league and in need of …something for their power play and/or defense, were seemingly good suitors.

There is, indeed, a possibility of Devils veteran Jamie Langenbrunner wearing the Burgundy and Blue before long. When I wrote a few days ago that the Avs might look Jersey’s way for help in the wake of Peter Mueller’s latest concussion, it wasn’t pure suggestion and guidance. I’d heard some “whispers” about the chances it could happen.
*In an earlier version of this blog, I mentioned I was looking into more of an aspect of the story with Mueller’s concussion. But it made it sound more sensational than I meant. Basically, there is no sensational aspect to this story that I’ve found. His long-term prognosis does remain a mystery, however, and there were no further updates today. There was some question as to how Mueller was cleared to play again, but from what I’ve gathered, everything done by the team was above board and by protocol.

It appears others are hearing the same whispers, as excellent, longtime Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record wrote from the Jersey end that the Avs are after Langenbrunner.

No new updates so far on Peter Mueller’s latest concussion, and things are probably going to stay vague for quite a while. You just never know with concussions, and there are established protocols now when a repeat victim has one. Basically, a lot of time has to go by and a lot of tests passed before doctors will even think of clearing a player with a history of them.

A lot of people have asked whether, because of his injury, his salary comes off the books as far as the cap goes. The answer is, not now, but maybe soon. If Mueller is determined to be likely out for an extended period – almost a certainty I’d say – the Avs would get “long term injury” cap relief. Basically, Mueller’s salary cap number ($2 million) would come off the books once that has been determined, and the Avs could fill it with another player of equal or more worth, provided they don’t go over the cap overall. With currently the lowest payroll in the league – and still not even to the cap floor even with Mueller’s salary – there is no danger of that. Basically, the Avs need to sign a couple of forwards (don’t forget about David Koci’s broken jaw injury, which will keep him out several weeks and take his $575K salary off too most likely).

Before I dust off another old VHS tape and provide a running dialogue, thanks to the many well-wishers over my recent, um, colonoscopy. It was certainly an interesting experience. To all of those who absolutely dread the thought of it, there are only two truly abysmal things about it: drinking the JUG of turbo-laxative solution the night and morning beforehand, which will send you RUNNING to the bathroom at least 15-20 times about an hour after swigging it, and the dreaded hospital gown that must be put on right before you get wheeled in. As Dave Barry so perfectly put it, the designer of those gowns obviously was a combination sadist/pervert. Read more…

Brian Rolston will go on the open market in about 20 minutes, and I think the Avs are going to make a phone call. A couple people associated with the team think Francois Giguere will at least inquire about how much the former Av wants.

I think Giguere expected Rolston to sign with the Lightning before 10 a.m. today, but that didn’t happen. So, stay tuned. It might not be as quiet a day around the Avs as we thought.

That said, I don’t think the Avs are among the favorites to get him. Partly because of the Sakic situation still looming over their heads, and partly because I think Rolston has too many bad memories of being here.

Not that he didn’t like Denver or the team as a whole, but his time here was probably the poorest on-ice performance of his entire career.

There are also 29 other teams who probably would love to add a nice left winger like him, and some have a lot more cap room than the Avs.

So, I’d say the chances of Rolston coming here are at about 10 percent. But that’s a lot better than 1 in 147 million, like the Powerball, right?

***Update: Just to give you a preview of tomorrow’s story in the paper: It’s going to be a quiet day for the Avs on free-agent day. Also, Theo, Bruno, Sauer and Finger are good as gone.

Before I get started, let me just say this: the Tampa Bay Lightning are insane. They just gave Ryan Malone $31.5 million for seven years, guaranteed. Insane. This is nothing more than a mediocre power forward, who played on a line much of the time with Sidney Crosby and still had only 51 points in 77 games for the Pens last season. He was terrible in the Finals against Detroit, too, a total non-factor.
Mark my words, that signing will be the kind of albatross around Barry Melrose’s neck like Bobby Holik was to the Rangers, or Alexei Yashin on the Island.
Insane.

Francois Giguere should be making the media rounds today, talking about the Avs on the day before free agency.

I think it’s going to be a fairly quiet day for the Avs, but to quote Dennis Miller, I could be wrong. Read more…

I didn’t write about this after Game 4 the other night, probably because I had about nine minutes to get everything done after the game ended, thanks to those fine 8 p.m. starts on Versus.
Not to alarm Avs fans too much, but the fact is, Joe Sakic specifically asked Joel Quenneville to be on the ice for the final seconds of Game 4 against Detroit.
And the question you have to ask yourself is, why would a guy want to be on the ice at the end of an 8-2 rout? Was it because he knew this was his last game in the NHL? Read more…

You guys can rip me all day long for picking the Wild, or berate me if you don’t like the way I write or if you don’t like my hair color or think I’m a few cards short of a full deck, and that’s fine. I dish it out for a living at times, so I can certainly take it.

But let’s reiterate something, because a lot of you seem to be confused about what my job entails. First off, the oldest rule in sports writing is “No cheering in the press box.” That means, no pulling for the team you cover. Any breaking of this rule, and you can kiss your credibility goodbye forever as a journalist. Read more…

Guess the Avs aren’t toast after all. My bad.
A few other thoughts before the ambien kicks in quick:
– Leopold for Finger was most certainly the right move. Q must have listened to me.
– Stephane Veilleux better hope Colin Campbell is in a good mood the next day or two, becuase what he did to Paul Stastny could warrant a suspension. He left his feet and hit a guy from behind, up high. Guys have been suspended for doing just that recently (Steve Ott against Leopold is one example), so it could happen for Veilleux. My hunch is he’ll get off, because Stastny is tough and got back up. But that doesn’t make Veilleux’s hit any less gutless.

As a couple of the Minnesota writers have already noted tonight, Mark Kiszla’s “Ugly Betty” column wasn’t so off the mark, was it? What kind of hockey do you call that tonight, Wild fans? Are you denying your team gooned it up tonight, and only cost themselves even more doing that?

I’m going to stay out of the media fracas, but knowing Kiszla, I can guarantee he’s laughing pretty hard right now at how the game turned out.

– Without Mikko Koivu, Brent Burns and Brian Rolston, the Wild might have been swept by now. Those three continue to play tremendous hockey.

– Ryan Smyth has been the MAN for his team so far. He’s playing great.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.